Yet another rendition of the WLDG gave rise to my suggestion to 'get the band back together' and an dinner was organized around Pho Paris' "Half-Price" Mondays. Most of the wines were ordered off the very nice list with a few supplements from the crew. Chef pulled off a superb 'cook for us' meal as well.

1998 Chateau Musar Blanc - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley(Decanted @ 10 AM, drank @ 9PM) Lovely golden hue. Rich nose with true lacquer, root vegetables and a dusty earthiness. Waves of it. Rich and bold on the palate, almost tannic in texture. Definite oxidative notes like a Serrano ham and backed with saffron feeling. Olive notes and cactus fruit. Evolving in the glass and ultimately a chimera expressing different parts of it along the way. Long finish with persistence and power. Just a full blown captivating wine. Incredible. Perfect pairing with monkfish, sweetbreads and vegetables in a lavender demi.

1974 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa ValleyOff-putting browned colour. Nose started off with oxidized and furnace notes, but the palate showed a lightness and a softness with out unpleasant notes. Decanted. In about 10 minutes, this bloomed. Gained weight and colour. Picked up faint mint notes, dried cherry fruits and a leathery backing. Still slightly off nose, but great depth and pleasure in the mouth. Definite old cab elements holding it all together, but a nice spiral around it of green tea, mints and leather. Incredible silkiness and sauveness in feeling brought this to another level and delivered the real pleasure. Amazing stuff. Well-matched with monkfish, sweetbreads, rice and lavender demi.

1997 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa ValleyNice currant-y nose with some tobacco and cedar. Good fruit and a solid backbone, but overall composition was unremarkable and this finish fell short. Quality in the structure and delimitation, but not memorable or greatly pleasing. Matched with lamb w/ curry spice, corn polenta and asparagus.

Man you are blazingly fast on getting the TN's posted. I'm still working on my second cup of coffee! Good to see you. I agree with you on the Musar. It has to be the best damn $26 bottle of wine out there!

Andrew Hall wrote:1998 Chateau Musar Blanc[/url] - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley(Decanted @ 10 AM, drank @ 9PM) Lovely golden hue. Rich nose with true lacquer, root vegetables and a dusty earthiness. Waves of it. Rich and bold on the palate, almost tannic in texture. Definite oxidative notes like a Serrano ham and backed with saffron feeling. Olive notes and cactus fruit. Evolving in the glass and ultimately a chimera expressing different parts of it along the way. Long finish with persistence and power. Just a full blown captivating wine. Incredible. Perfect pairing with monkfish, sweetbreads and vegetables in a lavender demi.

[...]

My favorite wine was the Musar Blanc - just breathtaking complexity it revealed over the evening.

A.

Good choice! The 98 is indeed lovely right now with an extended decanting, but I have a feeling it will soon shut down hard as it has gotten progressively tighter over the past few bottles I've drunk. I've now noticed it takes 2-3 days to really open up - I don't suppose you saved any for that long? I'll let my 5 remaining bottles sleep for a long time.

I don't drink wine because of religious reasons ... only for other reasons.

Whew! Andrew!!! That is impressive! Thanks for filing this. When I saw you had your notebook, I knew it would be far better than if I had taken my own notes. I'm printing and keeping. Thank you!
JuliaB

Otto Nieminen wrote:Good choice! The 98 is indeed lovely right now with an extended decanting, but I have a feeling it will soon shut down hard as it has gotten progressively tighter over the past few bottles I've drunk. I've now noticed it takes 2-3 days to really open up - I don't suppose you saved any for that long? I'll let my 5 remaining bottles sleep for a long time.

Otto, if you were going to pop a 98 in the near future, would you open it 2 or 3 days in advance? If so, do you just let it sit out in a decanter for that time?

A follow on note.....this wine continued to open and develop as the night progressed. The berry nose and taste became more pronounced. We probably should have splashed it and let it sit for 30 minutes or more before tasting.

Otto Nieminen wrote:Good choice! The 98 is indeed lovely right now with an extended decanting, but I have a feeling it will soon shut down hard as it has gotten progressively tighter over the past few bottles I've drunk. I've now noticed it takes 2-3 days to really open up - I don't suppose you saved any for that long? I'll let my 5 remaining bottles sleep for a long time.

Otto, if you were going to pop a 98 in the near future, would you open it 2 or 3 days in advance? If so, do you just let it sit out in a decanter for that time?

If I'm opening one for a tasting, I would open it in the morning and double decant. I tend to play safe for tastings. If I'm opening it at home, I'd just open it in the morning, draw away ½ a glass, put it in the fridge until evening, then keep drinking a few small glasses / day over three or four days.

I don't drink wine because of religious reasons ... only for other reasons.